By Pr Amath Ndiaye, FASEG-UCAD.
The announcement of a 5% GDP growth rate for 2026 may seem encouraging, especially in an uncertain global context and budgetary austerity. However, in reality, this figure, although commendable on a macroeconomic level, is largely insufficient to address Senegal’s most pressing challenge: youth employment.
growth too weak to absorb the youth
According to recent data from ANSD, Senegal’s active population stands at nearly 11.7 million people, with 4.9 million employed. The employment-growth elasticity, which measures the ability of growth to generate jobs, is estimated at 0.6. In other words, each percentage point of GDP growth translates into approximately 29,000 additional jobs.
With a projected growth of 5%, the Senegalese economy could create around 145,000 jobs. However, the labor market sees between 200,000 and 300,000 new entrants each year.
This dynamic leaves an annual deficit of 50,000 to 150,000 jobs, exacerbating unemployment and underemployment, especially among youth and women.
well-known structural limits
This imbalance has persisted for several years. Growth, although sustained, continues to be driven by sectors with low labor intensity: hydrocarbons, telecommunications, finance, and major public works. These sectors boost GDP but create few direct jobs.
Activities with high labor intensity – agriculture, agro-food processing, craftsmanship, local construction, and merchant services – still struggle to become central to the national economic strategy.
Result: growth does not translate into decent jobs or a significant improvement in purchasing power. Senegal is experiencing jobless growth, a phenomenon typical of economies in slow structural transition.
Budget adjustment: a turn towards productivity
In this period of budget adjustment, it is essential to reduce state operating expenses – particularly administrative costs, non-productive benefits, and institutional duplications – in order to redirect resources towards public investment.
Basic infrastructure (roads, energy, digital, hydraulic), vocational training, health, and agricultural productivity must once again become budget priorities. Only then will public spending become a lever for employment rather than just a tool for routine management.
for pro-employment growth
Senegal must aim for not only stronger growth (7 to 8% per year), but also more inclusive and labor-intensive growth.
This requires:
- An articulated industrial and agricultural strategy, based on local transformation and value chain creation.
- An active employment policy: incentives for hiring, support for SMEs, promotion of entrepreneurship, and gradual formalization of work.
- An exemplary budget governance, focused on productive investment and reduction of territorial inequalities.
In conclusion, we say that the 5% growth rate projected for 2026 will not be sufficient to stabilize unemployment or address demographic pressure.
Without a profound change in the composition of growth and budget management, the country risks continuing to grow without creating enough sustainable jobs.
Reducing the state’s standard of living, investing in productive sectors, and promoting inclusive growth are the real priorities.
